Britney's bad hair day

There are some hair extensions which appear totally natural, a perfect blend between old and new.

And then there is the Britney Spears look.

The 21-year-old pop star appeared, it is fair to say, not at her best during a night out in Los Angeles at the weekend.

Not only were her dark roots showing through the blonde extensions, but the glue holding it all together could clearly be seen.

Even if her coiffure had been perfect, the star's appearance would still have attracted attention. In contrast to her publicity photos, where she looks tanned, toned and the picture of health, she looked pale, ill and short of sleep.

'Britney was an out-and- out mess,' said a partygoer who saw her at close quarters. 'She clearly needs to get to a hairdresser straight away.'

It is normal for hair extensions to be put on at the scalp rather than the ends of the hair, and they are either braided into the hair or 'welded' on. Julien Guynnot, creative director of Antenna hair salon in Kensington where hair extensions were invented, said the problem was down to her hairdresser.

'She has not had her roots tinted and that is why you can see the brown hair at her scalp,' said Guynnot.

'She may have actually wanted dark roots with blonde hair, but to achieve this look the hairdresser should have replaced the extensions and placed them further down the head leaving enough natural hair to cover the seals.'

Another expert, Olvi Balman, of the Body Room in Bow, East London, said Miss Spears had no excuse for her hair looking so bad.

'I am not sure whether this is down to her having bad extensions that were not blended well enough or she has not been looking after them,' said Miss Balman.

'Depending on whether she had real hair or fibre-glass extensions, they are either plaited into her hair or welded on. But with neither method should the root of the extensions show.

'If she had thought about it a bit more she could have backcombed her hair and that would have stopped them showing.

'I suggest she goes to a hairdresser, has her roots done and her hair washed. That will make a big difference. She also needs to learn how to look after her extensions.'

Miss Spears, who is renowned for her less than perfect fashion sense, has sold millions of records thanks to her mixture of wholesome innocence (for the female fans) and titillating sexuality ( for the boys).

Hits including Baby One More Time and Oops, I Did It Again are credited with revitalising the entire teen pop market.

Of late, however, she has struggled to match her previous successes and, in July, she attempted to relaunch her career.

She had the extensions done at the same time following a disastrous attempt to adopt the brunette look.